Debt (Details)			3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	May 31, 2013 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2012 Bank Facility [Member] USD ($)	May 31, 2013 Bank Facility [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2012 Bank Facility [Member] USD ($)	May 31, 2013 Bank Facility [Member] Minimum [Member]	May 31, 2013 Bank Facility [Member] Maximum [Member]	May 31, 2013 Capital Lease Obligations [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2012 Capital Lease Obligations [Member] USD ($)	May 31, 2013 Other Debt [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2012 Other Debt [Member] USD ($)	May 31, 2013 Technology Purchase Obligation [Member]	Dec. 21, 2012 Credit Facility Bpp [Member] GBP (£)
Debt [Line Items]
Total debt	$ 87,641,000	$ 719,911,000		$ 0	$ 615,000,000			$ 52,292,000	$ 70,215,000	$ 35,349,000	$ 34,696,000
Less short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt	(20,063,000)	(638,588,000)
Long-term debt	67,578,000	81,323,000
Borrowing capacity				625,000,000									39,000,000.0
Debt term				5 years								10 years
Letters of credit outstanding	13,400,000	8,000,000
Debt repaid			$ 615,000,000
Fees						0.25%	0.40%
Variable debt rate basis				LIBOR
Fees for borrowings						1.25%	1.85%
Weighted average interest rate					3.50%					5.80%	5.70%